Faded Memories
by Vonerra
Summary: genkai's trying to deal with a requited love, but what happens when something goes wrong? toguroXgenkai
1. A Night to Forget

Faded Memories  
A night to forget  
  
She wrapped her arms around her legs. The cold air was comforting against her burning skin. The old frustration came back and she glared silently into the night. 'Why does he have to be so stubborn?' She sighed and stood up, collecting her thoughts and stuff that littered the ground around her. The night had settled and fog was beginning to come in. Owls hooted and crickets chirped; the moon was less than comforting. It shone full and bright and the fog that misted it gave it an old and haunted look. The trees that surrounded her were pale and bare. Twig like arms stretched out towards the sky. Some drooped down, as if the weight of the night air was too much. They had been bare since August; it was now January. 'Too late to head back now.' She glanced around at her surroundings, 'Not much of a choice I suppose.' She picked the nearest tree and hopped up. The arms of the tree gave no comfort to her aging back; she didn't care. The pain was all she needed and she welcomed it.  
  
The pale light of the dawning sun peaked up over the sleeping hilltop. It was enough to wake her up though. She yawned and stretched, not quite ready for the day ahead of her. Images of the night before brought chills to her spine. The air was already warm enough, yet she was shivering all the same. She remembered his smirking face and she glowered. 'You stupid fool!' She hopped out of the tree, stretched and then sat down. She wasn't quite ready to head home, to face the world yet. She sighed and peered up at the velvet sky. She knew she had to head home, but now wasn't the time.  
  
It felt like an eternity before she stirred. The anger that had once resided deep within her soul was now subdued, for a little longer at least. She still wasn't quite ready to leave her meditating state, but her pupil would be appearing anytime soon and her not being there would leave a crater of questions. She rolled her eyes at the thought and slowly, almost rhythmically, pulled herself up. She gave herself one last, bone creaking stretch and pulled herself together.  
  
At the first hint of an outbreak of running, her ankles resisted. They creaked, cracked and groaned under the relaxed state they had just been it. She ignored it. She kept on running and every time her ankles showed signs of weakness, she ran harder and faster. She imagined her in her younger form pulling up beside him grinning at the clearly annoyed expression he wore. He cursed and ran faster, and with no effort she pulled up alongside him once more. Inwardly she grinned, outside her face was expressionless, like a stone through many years of erosion. She wore the mask of erosion like a badge, her hair had lost its pink flair and her once calm, beautiful face now bore wrinkles. Aging had caught up with her, yet she did nothing to hide it. She was proud and let everyone know. She neared the edge of the cliff and peered down. The sun was fully inflated and cast an orange glow over the dense woods that spread out before her. The dojo was just beyond those lush trees. Her home, the place many lovely memories had once taken bloom. Those memories, now faded, kept hidden from the ever-prying eyes of the world.  
  
"Get up slacker!" Her weary voice was carried up to the rafters by the draft of dense woods. "Aww, c'mon ya old hag give me a break! I just got over being ill!"  
"I don't care if you've broken all the bones in your miserable body! You will train until I'm satisfied!" Yusuke groaned and staggered up. He was being pushed harder than normal. Concern briefly washed over his tough demeanor. He snagged a glance at his sensei, who was occupying herself with push-ups. He sighed and shook his head. He gave her an unknowing, sympathetic smile before clearing his throat to signal he was ready. Slightly raising her head she smirked. Dusting herself off and getting into her fighting stance she chuckled. Yusuke raised an eyebrow and stood opposite of her, also taking a fighting stance. Genkai shook her head and smiled. "I remembered the first day you came here. A cocky little jerk you were. No respect. You didn't care how strong your opponent was, you expected to mow them down and you showed no fear in letting them know. I was impressed with your skill, your attitude, however, disgusted me. I could tell by your body language that you were better than the rest, yet I was a bit nerved by your attitude. I knew you'd be perfect, but I wasn't about to take you in with that cockiness of yours." He grinned. "Yeah, and I thought you were some crazy old hag. I thought it would be a cinch to shear down the others, then take you. I could've sworn that I would've had your power in no time. As time grew I soon learned that there was more than met the eye. I had grown to respect you, to learn to listen and be taught. You have taught me so much, thanks." Suddenly he shook his head and stuck out his tongue, growing cross-eyed trying to look at it. "See?! Look at what you have down, you made me soft!" "Ha! You brought that on yourself." He tackled her and she kicked him off. As the fight progressed their power increased and then fight turned ugly. When it was all over you wouldn't have been able to tell the difference between the two if it hadn't been for the height. Rich, velvet colored blood covered their features. It felt good to finally be able to fight again. Genkai thought she'd never have this chance. 'I'm getting too old for this. This punk has to learn and learn fast...' 


	2. A Glass Surface

A glass surface  
  
A/n: thank you to Lucifer's Daughter and Kikyokurama for reviewing and to Dejiko/Puchiko for correcting my mistake.  
  
He stopped his endless walking and peered into the vast, empty, starlight sky. He sighed and trudged on. 'Why am I feeling this? Our love is gone. Yet, I feel as if a part of me is gone when she's not near.' He shook his head and proceeded to unravel the cloth that was plastered to his form. As he entered the stream, the icy water greeted his flushed skin and in the pale moonlight, his features looked worn. He kept sinking farther, letting the crystal green waters engulf him. The sand was soft beneath his feet and the little fishes made no attempt at hiding. 'Am I really that pathetic, that not even the fishes are scared of me?' He sighed in an overwhelming fashion. He let his tired-out body fall, his smooth skin hitting the glass- like surface. He was standing in a neck height amount of water, now as he was falling towards the ocean floor the water completely engulfed him, and he let his sense float away. The fishes had long since escaped his falling form, but now they were back to investigate the intrusion to which they were having delight with. They came back to nibble at his toes and to squiggle between his fingers. He put no energy into escaping them; he let himself relax.  
  
Light rain settled herself upon his cheeks and he wearily glanced around at his surroundings. He groaned and shut his eyes once more. A new jealous form came about his cheeks. Warmth now flooded his face and was washing away any traces of drizzle that appeared. He was forced to, once again, open his eyes and peer into what seemed like a fire. Toguro blinked once, twice, three times before realizing it was a campfire, but out here in the middle of a forest? Groggily he pulled himself up and accidentally rammed his back into a rain soaked log. He let the pain flow through him before propping himself against the log and letting his head tilt back so his nose met the sky. "So you think you can just walk out on me huh?" The new sound chorused through the chilly, night air, it sounded just as weary as he felt. Blearily he opened one eye to come face to face with a light pink one. Both eyes now were fully captivated into a bug-like state. The eye moved back so that Toguro could see the face it belonged to. The carnation pink lips smirked. "Don't think I wouldn't find you!" The lips spoke. The figure sat back on her haunches and let him examine her. He almost choked at what he saw. There in front of him was Genkai, in her younger form. She raised an eyebrow and tilted her head. His mouth formed an O and hung there. When she was sure he wasn't about to speak, she rose and slowly spun her heel on him. She walked a couple of paces and bent down again. She came back moments later to find Toguro in a sleep-like state. She sat between his out stretched legs and poked him, hard, in the stomach. There was no cloth between him, his stomach and her means of waking him up; he had to choke back a howl. She laughed and when his mouth came open in surprise, she shoveled a spoonful of soup down his throat.  
  
For the longest time, neither said anything. His energy had been drained and he was too tired to care that he was being force-fed. When she was satisfied that he was full, she rested her pink pony-tailed head against his chest. The stars twinkled and the moon appeared full and bright. The critters came out, and beady little eyes peered through the underbrush. The night seemed to be filled with joy, for there in the middle of the forest were two old lovers, resting comfortably in each other's presence. 


End file.
